Use of High-Intensity Ultrasound to Increase the Efficiency of Imazalil in Postharvest Storage of Citrus Fruits

Imazalil (IMZ) plays a key role in the storage and marketing of Citrus fruits. It represents a very important tool in the fight against postharvest pathogens and is an efficient system for reducing economic losses due to the development of rots from Penicillium digitatum and Penicillium italicum. However, the current technologies employed to apply the fungicide by drenching, spraying, or dipping are ever much less suitable and progressive restrictions by law limit the residue level on the fruit and in the waste-water. A critical analysis of the factors affecting imazalil efficacy in postharvest preservation of Citrus fruit suggests that ultrasound could be useful to overcome these drawbacks. Data obtained confirmed a faster and deeper uptake of the fungicide in mandarins and lemons when the fruits were dipped in sonicated imazalil mixtures compared to the un-sonicated ones, allowing reduction of the dose of application and duration of the treatment. Indeed dipping for 1 min in 500 mg L-1 IMZ sonicated mixture produced in mandarins the same residue level of dipping for 5 min in 1,000 mg L-1 IMZ mixture without ultrasound. Moreover, imazalil concentration in fruit after sonication did not exceed the maximum residue limit allowed by the law. Sonication did not affect the chemical parameters, weight loss, and rind color of the fruit. No damage on the fruit surface was observed after scanning electron microscopy analyses of the rind of sonicated fruit. The data obtained open new interesting perspectives in the development of new postharvest treatment technologies for Citrus fruit.